Thursday, April 30, 2009

Overheard

"Hey Ben, let's play a math game. What's two plus two?"
"Four."
"What's three plus three?"
(pause... whispers numbers to self) "Six?"
"Yeah. Four plus four."
(pause and whispers) "Eight."
"Okay, now do ten plus ten."
"Uhm... I can't even guess that one."
"Then tell me what's five plus five."
"Ten. I've knowed that one my whole life. Okay, Emmie, here's one for you: Zero plus eight."
"Easy - that's eight. What's 100 plus 100?"
"beep-beep! beep-beep! overloading! overloading!"

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

More Thoughts from the Beach

Standing at the edge of the sea and watching a kite soar high in the air can make you feel very small.

There's nothing quite like a nap on a warm sandy towel.

Ben is so proud of his shell "worth precious moneys and hundreds and hundreds."

Running up to the water's edge, playing catch-me-if-you-can with the waves.

Catching up on journaling, not worrying about blogging.

Four girls gadding about, sampling italian ice, sniffing cologne, and eyeing trinkets they can't afford.

Who needs cohesive thoughts and paragraphs? Not at the end of vacation, anyhow.

Everyone staying up late, cozy with a favorite movie after a long day in the sun.

A mug of coffee to make it cozier.

There's always a touch of end-of-vacation melancholy.

Ready to be home, but not ready to leave.

We'll go for one more walk in the morning.

Walks along the shore always seem shorter than the walks we take at home.


I'd better start packing and get some sleep.
Be home soon.
:)

Me

Sunday, April 26, 2009

thoughts from the beach

Coffee tastes better outside with a view of the ocean.
Limited internet access can be very freeing.
Most postcards are ugly and stupid.
Washing vacation dishes is easier than washing at home.
Volleyball til 10:40.
Strolling on the cool, windy beach at night.
Strumming and singing as loud as you please on the porch.
Watching gulls, sandpipers, and pelicans.

I'm in no hurry to come back. ;-)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

We Have A Winner!

I finished my vacation packing and decided to tally the entries and select a winner by getting a random number from Random.Org.

Breakdown:
41 people entered!
31 of them left a critique, gaining them an extra entry.
Total - 72 entries! How cool!

The random number was picked, and soon Kayla at The Eclectic Element will be the owner of a CaitiJo Charcoal Beret. YAY! Congratulations, Kayla!

Summary of the Giveaway:
  • It was fun to receive that many comments and compliments. Talk about an ego boost!
  • I got some really great tips for my shop that I definitely plan on putting into practice.
  • I found some cool bloggers.
  • Everyone who entered is going to get a blog comment from me if they haven't already.
  • I'm left feeling a little sad that only one of those amazing people could win. But I'd be in trouble if I just started giving away everything to people just because they're nice.
Maybe I should do this sort of regularly. It was definitely fun.
Thanks to everybody who entered. You made these past couple days super awesome. Reading all your comments was a blast. I really thought I might only have 3 entries. :D Glad I was wrong!

And now, I'm off to get a couple hours of sleep before the drive in the morning.
Happy Wednesday!
Caiti

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Six Flags

Dear Readers,

I sacrificed my nap for this post. I was up til 2:30 last night, fighting with iTunes, trying to get about 100 podcast episodes onto my iPod. I had to redo it twice, and then it still ended up wonky. After work, I had every intention of napping, but I knew if I didn't post about Six Flags now, I wouldn't get to it. Every hour from now til sometime tomorrow is claimed for vacation prep. Once there I wouldn't have access to all these dorky pictures I knew you'd want to see.

So, let's get to it, shall we?

We left the house around 1 o'clock.
On the way, we stopped at our favorite convenience store for drinks and gasoline.
Joey got some Reese's cups to share. Dear boy.

We got to Six Flags at 2:45.

We spent the first half hour swimming in the sea of Spring Breakers, trying to figure out what we wanted to do. Since every line was going to have a wait time of forever, we decided to stop thinking about what to do and just do something. We got in line for the Acrophobia, which Abby had never ridden. And guess what happened?
Nothing.
We stood there for 2 hours. I think it's the longest line I've ever been in. We are so lame, we should have played I Spy or at least talked or something, but we just stood there, silent and cold.

Why was it so cold and windy that day? Obviously I didn't check the weather report before I left the house.

At 4:30 we finally got to ride. It was AWESOME. I've ridden it before but my stomach totally jumped up in my throat. Abby was beside me and I was afraid she might cry. Her face and knuckles were all white, and her eyes were huge. But she loved it. Yay!

We don't have any cool pictures of that kind of stuff because we kept the camera in the van most of the day.

So, we got off the ride and enjoyed being able to run around after being cramped in that line. We made a beeline to the van to get some lunch. Yes, it was a late lunch. Tuna sandwiches and carrots are amazing when you're starving. Of course, you're never too satisfied to keep from drooling over the enticing smells of popcorn and funnel cake wafting all around. :P

We took our time eating because there was no point rushing because we'd never make it through another line before Big Daddy Weave was took the stage at 6.Well, we left the van at 6, and it took us a whole 20 minutes to get to the amphitheater.

Big Daddy Weave was great, but I felt a little shortchanged when he quit singing at 6:40. Newsong was supposed to start at 7, not 6:45! So... that was a bummer. He was really funny though. :D

It was getting cold, so we skipped Newsong and searched the park for affordable sweatshirts.
Yeah right.
After looking in every shop, we decided it was time for a snack before Barlow Girl.

So, it's 7 o clock and we're walking to the van. I said "Dear God, this is a weird prayer, but if you'd magically make some sweaters appear in the van, that would be awesome."It wasn't exactly a prayer... just me thinkin'... We got out to the van and Joey and Abby were like "hey! We didn't know this bag of clothes was in here!"

Yep! So they didn't magically appear, but if I hadnt've mentioned it to God, we might not have noticed them. I dunno. At any rate, we all ended up warmer than before! Joey found his other sweater and let me wear his hoodie. Abby found a long sleeved shirt which was not very attractive, but was very functional, and Laura donned a big thick oversized tee shirt, which she was just fine with. I was glad to have the Timberland hoodie cuz I'm selfish like that.

Anyhow, Abby posed for a picture with me and fixed some more sandwiches.


Laura posed with Joey, then started noshing on some carrots and ranch dressing.


She was modeling as she ate, and I told her that was a great "'carrots are healthy and sexy' face."

She nodded her assent as Abby choked, laughing at our idiocy.



I had a couple carrots myself, even though I'm not supposed to because of my braces.
Then I posed with my beloved pass.

We attempted a picture of all four of us, but it wasn't working so well. We tried again. It worked.

Finished snacking, we headed back to the amphiteater. The popcorn was calling loudly, but we ignored it.

Barlow Girl was awesome. This thing at Six Flags was my first concert... It was pretty cool. During one song, I was ready for it to be over because I'm not exactly accustomed to feeling as if my chest is going to vibrate right out of me. However, I got into the spirit and did a little hopping and cell phone waving with the rest of the crowd at the urging of the band.

So. Concert over, we decided we MUST have some popcorn. And don't you know when we went to find it it was all gone. All the vendors with carts -gone. All the little window shops - empty.
Not to be so easily defeated, we climbed aboard the skybuckets, on a quest to search the other side of the park for delicious, salty, fake-buttery popped corn.

Here is an interesting shot from the sky bucket. Six Flags at night is COOL.
Oh, and one of me, Joey, and some tiny little aliens who flew past at an inopportune time.

AHA! Finally. In one of the more restaraunt-y places we found our prize.


We loaded back into a Sky Bucket so we could ride the Scream Machine before closing time, eating popcorn all the way. I think it tasted better than it would have before, since it had an adventure behind it. ;-)




Our popcorn adventure took half an hour.
We ran as fast as we could from the sky buckets to the scream machine, where we waited excitedly, polishing off the last of the popcorn... and probably some germs too, if you think about it. Ew.

9:50, we were flying through the night sky on a roller coaster! WOOT! I love those things.
It jerked to a halt, and it was time to go home.

And so we did.

There you have it.
I think it's funny we had more fun just running around the park not getting much of anything done than we did the rest of the day. :D It's awesome to just hang out with your family and be a nut.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

Love,
me

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Giveaways are Fun!

Fact of the Day:
Giveaways are fun. Mostly if you win. I've won two etsy-people giveaways before.
Both prizes were earrings. As a matter of fact, my favorite yellow lemon-drop earrings were a giveaway prize. I won them by pleading eloquently. They went AWOL on me...
I've also benevolently donated my items for other people's giveaways.

Anyways! Because giveaways are fun*, I have decided to hold my own.
Behold my Giveaway Poster! (isn't it lovely?)

That's right, people! You get to pick your own prize! Whatever you want from my shop can be your very own. Well, "whatever" is limited to one item. And there will only be one winner.

Here's how it works:

  • Visit www.CaitiJo.etsy.com, come back and tell me what you would pick to win and why.
  • For an extra entry, leave a critique - Do I need to change something? How so? (you can leave both "entries" in one comment.)
  • The winner will be randomly selected and announced Wednesday, April 22.

There you have it! Go for it!
I'm excited. I hope more than one person enters.

Contest open Saturday, April 18 - Tuesday, April 21.
Open to residents of all countries. I hope you don't have outrageous shipping. lol
I'm going out of town for a week Wednesday afternoon, so if you choose a made-to-order item, I will send it ASAP when I get back. You've been forewarned. :D However, if you so choose something already finished, I'll slap a label right on it and stick it in the mail that very day! ;-)

I know lots of people give extra entries for posting about the giveaway on their blog, but I'm going to be different and not. However, I think you should post about it anyways, to share the fun with your friends out of the goodness of your heart. lol!

Have a happy weekend!

CaitiJo

* I'm big on honesty, so I thought I should let you know that I'm also doing this for shameless self promotion.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Coming soon...

Story of a Day At Six Flags coming soon to a Caitlinesque near you.

Aren't you glad. I know you've been waiting.
Rosalie has, anyways.
lol

Today was lovely, so I just felt like popping in and saying hi.
I got a new item up for my etsy shop this week.
I made two more new things, but I haven't put the finishing touches on them. Poor them.

But here's the beret I finished, photographed, and listed!

crochet green swirl beret caitijo
green crochet beret
I'm kind of fond of it. :)

Work was good. Shopping with mama and Katey was good.
All the junk food I ate today was good.

Now if the rest of the week will keep with the trend, I'll be quite content. :)

Have a happy day.
Caiti

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Random Weekend Update

Today my siblings and I are off to Six Flags. Feel free to come hang out with us. ;-)
Ooh! I just realized it's Christian Music Weekend! Cool.

I'm currently reading Deadline by Randy Alcorn. The power went out because of the storm last night, but I stayed up reading from like 11:00-1:30 by the light of an oil lamp. Yay! It's a super good book.

It's making me excited about Heaven. I always pictured it as standing around a throne singing forEVER. Which isn't too bad, I guess, since Jesus is there, but it did seem a little boring. Mr. Alcorn's vision of heaven is pretty cool. But I guess I won't derail this post and go into it here. :D

Trading on Etsy is fun. I'm trading these slippers crochet slippers yellow
for this pendant. leaves polymer pendant Thanks Lori!

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday! It's going to be busy, but fun. The choir is singing in both services, then my family is going to hang out at Mema's house with lots of other great family peoples, and then we have communion service at church, and youth choir practice afterwards.

May we remember the reason for all the celebration during the flurry of activity! Jesus Christ is Risen! YAY!

Oh - my Morning Thunder tea is steeping, and it's probably nasty and bitter by now. :|
If you like black tea, you should try Celestial Seasoning's Morning Thunder. It's gooood.

This is so random. But I felt like posting, and decided to just write whatever I thought to write.

Oh! Another thing! I'm almost done with sorting out "the businessy stuff" in regards to my Etsy business. By which I mean that I finally got my business registered, my trade name registered, and got a tax ID number to take care of sales tax and all that. Phew. Now if I could just figure out how to submit sales tax. They sent me a whole packet full of papers that I don't really understand how to use. I'm seeking help for that... And help needs to come fast... I'm running out of time to file for the last quarter!

I thought y'all would like to know that after all the whining I did before about not being able to figure it out.

So. I'm going to get ready to go to Six Flags now. After I drink my tea.
Have a happy Saturday, and rejoice! Our God is alive. :D

Caitlin

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Another Shoe Post

Hello!
I do not believe I have ever shown off my amazing, custom hand painted shoes from Alexandra.
Allow me-



Are those unique or what? I got her to fashion the little paintings after some of Helen's designs.
(Because I own the little bird earrings and a tiny lovebirds ring from her. And I LOVE them. )

In other news, I have been on the ball with slipper-making this week.

red burgundy mary jane maryjane crochet slippers black elfin elf gnome crochet slippers red cranberry crochet slippers elf elfin gnome


green pixie crochet fairy slippers



That one blue background picture with all those green ones is feeling a little lonely. However, it's a better photo all around, so it doesn't mind too much.


Now, I would like to share with you a photo that absolutely made my night when I saw it.
From a super-awesome buyer:

"Your description of the slippers made me think I would love to illustrate that."

Is that just the coolest thing or what?! It makes me soooo happy!
I've gotten a couple of appreciation photos before. They all rock, but this one SO takes the cake!
So, I think I'm off to read a little, and maybe make more brown Elfin Slippers.
Happy Wednesday!
Caitlin

Monday, April 6, 2009

Life Lesson Monday

Do not fall in love with an otherworldly shapeshifting creature.

You may find yourself eyewitness to snarling alien forms, confusion,
emotional turmoil, and/or crushing heartbreak.
The relationship will likely end prematurely with a forever goodbye and lingering "emptiness."


This lesson brought to you by Wesley Crusher of The Starship Enterprise.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Adventure of the Ugly Shoes

The other day I felt like doing something creative.
For some reason I chose useless creativity over productive creativity.
I decided to revamp my ugliest shoes.

Behold - the almost-cute-but-failed ugly flipflops that don't even stay on my feet:Are they red? Are they pink? The straps are red, but the foam is ugly faded pink... These photos look better than the real shoes.

Behold the gruesome dismemberment!
enter Calvinesque evil laughter *

Now, behold my crafty, creative crochet work.
I thought it needed more straps. And I was bored.


And then I blistered my fingers doing a blanket stitch around one of the shoes.
I haven't done the other one yet because it seems a little pointless.
Actually, I'm kind of proud of my creative genius, but the shoes are still ugly... I showed Laura, wanting her to say "oh! neat crochet stuff, Caitlin!" But no. She wrinkled her nose and said "Dang, those are ugly." or something to that effect. lol

I think they're a little better than before, but they're still ugly. I would like to get a pair of cute flip flops and make them cuter instead of making ugly ones slightly more tolerable.
:D

* I love Calvin and Hobbes!!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Inspiration, Please!

You know what?
I'm not posting about Etsy stuff, though I've been making new things and sales are down.
I'm not posting about April Fool's Day, though Google's little prank made me giggle.
I'm not posting a media review, though I've been meaning to for quite some time.
I'm not posting a Life Lesson, which I forgot to do on Monday.
I'm not posting a picture post, because my recent pictures aren't uploaded yet.
I'm not posting a serious bunch of thoughts on life.
Nor am I posting another collection of sugary happiness.

I just wanted to blog this morning, and don't know what to blog about.

The cockatiel is warbling and my parrotlet is squeaking at him in irritation.
My parrotlet is growing a bunch of feathers back. That makes me happy. He had pulled a bunch of his feathers out for unknown reasons, and was looking like a fuzzy gray hobo bird instead of a vibrant parrot.

I think it would be fun to get another bird, but I also think that would make Vincent mad.

Well, my stroke of intelligent genius is taking its time revealing itself... So I guess I'll go do something useful. Let me know if you have any good ideas.
I'll eventually get around to writing all the things that I'm not writing today. lol

Caitlin